Case Studies

Posted on December 5, 2012

Startup Stay

Entrepreneurs traveling around the world have a new opportunity to meet like minded startup folks through a new service called Startup Stay. Founded by Fred Caballero and Facundo Villaveiran, Startup Stay offers you the chance to host or stay with other entrepreneurs, gain local knowledge, and build new valuable relationships. Read on to learn more!

The Big Plate: What’s on your plate?

Startup Stay: When we launched Startup Stay with my partner back in June we set out to build something people want and to gain traction. Ww though we would be far is we accomplished that. The good news is that we reached that goal in 12 weeks but realized this is just the beginning.

Last Thursday we were selected to join the Startup Chile program so currently I’m spending some time organizing the trip and ideal outcomes.

We’re also interviewing candidates to bring a CTO on board while working on a few very cool projects, supporting entrepreneurs on the go (Example: Leeap.in)

TBP: Tell us a little about the Startup Stay community.

SS: Even though Startup Stay is a community for entrepreneurs who travel, there’s a portion that doesn’t travel much often but is very interested in meeting other like-minded entrepreneurs or share their home with them.

Our main objective is help them connect face-to-face around the world.

It’s a trusted, invite-only network. Besides the entrepreneurs that apply to join the community everyday, existing members count with 5 invitation codes. They use them wisely by inviting other entrepreneurs they trust. That’s how we’re gradually building a solid network.

In general, the community consists on young tech entrepreneurs (but not limited to) between 20 and 40 years old.

TBP: What are some of the main reasons startups travel to different locals?

SS: The main reasons why they would choose to stay with a local host entrepreneur would be: network with like-minded people, gain local insights, access to key contacts, introductions in the local startup scene and naturally avoid accommodation costs.

TBP: Have you considered offering more formal accommodations?

SS: That’s a good point. Not at the moment. We’re still trying to test other things before we would consider going that route.

TBP: What advice do you offer to members to promote a community of good hosts and guests?

SS: We do many things but here’re the main two:

1) We keep very good communication with all members and are always trying to capture the best stories to amplify them through our blog, creating relevant good content.

2) we launched an ambassador program a couple of months ago. We count now with 30 local ambassadors around the world that help us conduct monthly local meetups. These are great for local members to meet and for travelling entrepreneurs to meet more Startup Stay members.

TBP: Have you witnessed members using this platform as a way to connect with potential startup partners?

SS: Absolutely! We just had a member in Rio that scored a fantastic deal by meeting with another Startup Stay member in Sao Paulo. More to come…

TBP: How can members of The Big Plate community get access to the Startup Stay network?